Between 1867 and 1918, the Reichsrat was the parliament of Cisleithania, the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary, which was officially known as "the kingdoms and lands represented in the Reichsrat" (German die im Reichsrat vertretenen Königreiche und Länder). It consisted of the Herrenhaus (House of Lords) and the Abgeordnetenhaus (house of deputies).
The members of the Abgeordnetenhaus were elected for a six-year term of office, but originally only by those male citizens who paid a certain amount of taxes. Starting in 1907, voting rights became independent from the amount of taxes paid, which gave stronger representation to less well-off individuals.
Throughout its existence, the effectiveness of the Reichsrat suffered heavily from conflicts between the numerous constituent ethnic groups of the monarchy.
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